Creative Ways To Manage Negativity in the Workplace

It can be a complicated and delicate process of dealing with a negative team member within your team. The key is to be delicate, supportive, reinforcing, and actionable. While the most proven solution is to prevent the entire situation as a whole, to begin with, avoiding all sensitivities and bad vibes that follow.

Prevent Negative Communication

Unfortunately, avoiding negativity in the workplace altogether is an impossible feat, however preventing as much negative communication, will help to keep it a low-level problem. Filling your team’s communication outside of work projects that include non-spam positive subjects. Regarding projects and communication within work tasks, always provide your team with high quality and in-depth information, which helps keep people informed and doesn’t let minds wander or possible adverse conversations start among members.

Award Recognition and Accomplishments

While negativity in the workplace may be caused by numerous events, many times, it is the team managers own fault. Awarding recognition to your teammates on finished projects and deadlines met should be a top priority in managing a team.

Imagine yourself in the shoes of your team members, you worked so hard last week on that project, and you even finished the project, two days before the deadline, and you never received any recognition from it. You’ll feel under appreciated and not valuable to your manager, which will eventually lead to negative feelings on all facets of work.

Be Transparently Honest

Never lie or hold back information with your employees. While it may be tempting to keep information from them if the news is unfavorable, lying creates a distrust and a major communication issue with your team.

Make it a priority, with each discussion and milestone; you take with your team to keep all points productive as well as transparently honest. The trust you build with your team will, in turn, keep them honest with every milestone and project they finish, with you as well as other members of your team working with them, keeping everything smooth and productive.

Be Actionable When Things Get Negative

When all else fails, and you have a negative team member or unluckily, members, always keep your plan actionable. Do not set yourself aside while negativity in the workplace continues. Get a clear transparent ability to work with those negative team members. While a negative team member means poor attitude or judgment for that person, it doesn’t necessarily say they are unproductive workers. While it’s a terrible situation, throughout the entirety of this misfortunate never lower your respect for a negative team member.

Make sure you check out our other blog post and leave a comment below letting us know how you deal with negativity in the workplace.